双语阅读：世界上著名的快闪行动
快闪行动”，又译“聪明暴民”、“暴民”、“快闪暴走族”、“快闪族”、“聪明行动帮”等等。是新近在国际流行开的一种嬉皮行为，可视为一种短暂的行为艺术。
On August 5th, 2007, a small group of young people gathered at the Hongqi Street in city Changchun, Jilin Province, China. These young people, in matching clothes, and each holding a guitar, stood in line and began to sing a pop song. And suddenly, they dispersed1).
This was the first case of the globally renowned "Flash Mob" landing in Changchun, China. Fourteen participants staged their event in three downtown areas of the city, puzzling a lot of passers-by in the process.
Is it performance art? The cutting edge of a new social movement? Or just the ultimate surprise party?
2007年8月5日,一小群年轻人聚集在中国吉林省长春市的红旗街。这些年轻人穿着统一的服装,每人背着一把吉他,站成一排开始演唱一首流行歌曲。然后很突然地,他们就四散离开了。
这是风靡全球的“快闪行动”首次登陆中国长春。14名参与者在该市的三处繁华路段开展了活动,使得这期间路过的许多行人一头雾水。
这是一种行为艺术?是一项最前沿的新社会运动?抑或只是一场终极的惊喜派对?
关于快闪行动
A relatively new phenomenon, a flash mob is a spontaneous2) gathering of people who assemble in a predetermined3) location, perform an action, and then disperse. Participants network4) through email, bulletin boards, and social networking sites, including Facebook, Myspace, private blogs, public forums, personal websites, as well as by word of mouth and text messaging, and generally assemble silently and without comment before vanishing equally mysteriously.
The general purpose of a flash mob is to create a light-hearted gathering of people to intrigue5) and mystify6) bystanders. Yan Hao, a college student, was one of the 14 team members who took part in the Changchun Flash Mob. "I love fresh ideas," said the young man. "And I have been longing to take part in the 'Flash Mob'." Unlike Yan, some other members took the activity as a way to release pressure. "We don't know each other. Who cares who you are and what you're doing?"
快闪行动是一种相对而言比较新的现象,一群人自发聚集到某个事先约定好的地点,做出一个举动,然后迅速四散离开。参与者在网络上通过电子邮件、公告板和Facebook、Myspace等社交网站、私人博客、公共论坛、个人网站,以及口口相传、手机短信等形式相互征求意见。通常情况下,他们都会悄无声息地聚集,然后在同样神秘消失前不发表只字片语。
快闪行动的一般目的是组织一个轻松的聚会,激起旁观者的好奇心,让他们感到困惑不解。大学生闫昊(音译)是参与长春快闪行动的14名成员之一。“我喜欢新鲜的主意,”这位年轻人说。“我一直希望参加‘快闪行动’。”与闫昊不同,其他一些成员则将这项活动视为宣泄自身压力的一种途径。“我们互不认识。谁关心你是谁,你在做什么?”
第一次快闪行动
The first flash mob was organized in Manhattan, New York, US, in May 2003 by Bill Wasik, senior editor of Harper's Magazine7). But this first event, like many, was unsuccessful.
The first successful flash mob was assembled on June 3, 2003 at New York's Macy's department store. More than one hundred people converged8) on the ninth floor rug9) department of Macy's department store, gathering around one particularly expensive rug. Anyone approached by a sales assistant said that they lived together in a warehouse on the outskirts of New York, that they were shopping for a Love Rug and that they made all purchase decisions as a group. You could imagine how the store's sales assistants were puzzled by these people!
2003年5月,《哈泼氏》杂志资深编辑比尔·瓦西克在美国纽约曼哈顿组织了第一次快闪行动。但是和许多活动的第一次一样,这次活动并没有成功。
2003年6月3日,第一次成功的快闪行动在纽约的梅西百货公司上演。一百多人聚集在梅西百货公司九层的地毯专柜,围在一块无比昂贵的地毯旁。若被销售助理问起,他们每个人都会说,他们一起居住在纽约市郊的一个仓库里,正在选购一块“爱的地毯”,而且他们所有的购买行为都是集体决定的。你可以想象店里的销售助理被这些人搞得多么迷惑不解!
世界上著名的快闪行动
★Silent Disco
A well known flash mob was the April 2006 Silent Disco in London. At various underground stations around London, people gathered with their portable music devices and at a set time all started dancing to their music. At the time this was by far the largest flash mob gathering by a considerable amount. It was reported that at Victoria Station more than 4,000 people were in attendance. This impacted the regular service of the London underground system enough for the city's police to begin crowd control and slowly clear people.
★Worldwide Pillow Fight Day
Worldwide Pillow Fight Day (or International Pillow Fight Day) was a pillow fight flash mob that took place on March 22, 2008. Over 25 cities around the globe participated in the first international flash mob, which was the world's largest flash mob to date. According to The Wall Street Journal, over 5,000 participated in New York City, overtaking London's 2006 Silent Disco gathering as the largest recorded flash mob.
★The London Underground Tube Party
In response to a ban on drinking alcohol on the London Underground, citizens in the city organized a final Tube party on 31 May 2008, the night before the ban took effect. The party took place primarily on the Circle line, with smaller events taking place along the system. Although there are no definite figures on the turnout10), experts say there were thousands of Londoners in attendance.
★The Mp3 Experiment
In this flash mob, participants downloaded musical tracks before attending the event, and spontaneously broke into dance, following instructions embedded11) in the tracks.
The Mp3 Experiment has become an annual event. The original one took place indoors at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre12) in 2004. The audience watched a projected countdown clock and then all pressed play together. A few minutes later, the seats were empty as the entire crowd was dancing on the stage. Participants blew bubbles, hit balloons in the air, and hugged each other before being led by Santa Clause out the theatre and down the street to a nearby bar.
★The No Pants Subway Ride
The No Pants Subway Ride is annual event staged every January in New York City. The first ride began in 2002, which included 7 participants, all male. One participant entered the train pantless for 7 consecutive stops. They pretended not to notice each other, and if asked, they claimed that they "just forgot" their pants. On the 8th stop, someone came through with a duffle bag13) selling pants for $1.
This year, the eighth annual No Pants ride had 1,200 participants in New York and 1,000 more in 21 other cities across the globe.
★Frozen in Shanghai
On March 8, 2008, an assembly of people gathered on Nanjing Road to "freeze in place14) at the same time."
Although it was raining a little and many couldn't make it on time, the event was a great success in terms of how Chinese and foreign passers-by immediately joined in. In a matter of seconds, pedestrians15) stopped to take pictures, film, and comment on the crowd of 50-or-so people that had turned into "stone" in various positions. The group performed the "freeze" twice, once at 3 and then at 3:20 to allow late-comers to join in.
★无声迪斯科
2006年4月发生在伦敦的“无声迪斯科”是一次广为人知的快闪行动。在伦敦多个地铁站内,人们带着便携式音乐装置聚集在一起,在一个设定好的时刻,所有人都开始随着音乐跳舞。这次活动的参与者人数之多,使其成了当时规模最大的一次快闪聚会。据报道,在维多利亚站就有超过4000人参与到了活动当中。这次活动给伦敦地铁系统的正常运作造成了冲击,伦敦市警方不得不进行人流控制,慢慢地疏散人群。
★世界枕头大战日
“世界枕头大战日”(或“国际枕头大战日”)是于2008年3月22日进行的一次枕头大战快闪行动。全球有超过25个城市参加了第一次国际快闪行动,这也是迄今为止全球最大的一次快闪行动。据《华尔街日报》报道,纽约市有超过5000人参与了此次行动,该数目超过了伦敦2006年的“无声迪斯科”快闪行动,并取而代之,成了有记载的规模最大的一次快闪行动。
★伦敦地铁派对
为了回应伦敦地铁颁布的一项禁酒令,伦敦市民在2008年5月31日,即禁令生效的前一个晚上组织了一次最后的地铁派对。派对主要在地铁环线列车上举行,在地铁的其他路段也举行了一些更小规模的活动。尽管当时聚集的具体人数无法确定,专家称数以千计的伦敦市民参与了活动。
★Mp3实验
在这一次快闪行动中,参加者在参与活动前先下载好音乐,然后根据已嵌入旋律中的提示,在同一时刻起舞。
“Mp3实验”已经变成了每年一次的活动。2004年,第一次活动在正直的市民旅剧场内举行。观众们看着一个投影的倒计时钟,然后所有人同时按下播放键。几分钟后,所有的人全都在舞台上跳舞,观众席上空无一人。参与者吹泡泡,击打空中的气球,互相拥抱,随后在“圣诞老人”的带领下离开剧场,沿着街道走去附近的一家酒吧。
★不穿裤子乘地铁
“不穿裤子乘地铁”是每年1月份在纽约市举办的一次活动。第一次活动开始于2002年,参与者有7个人,且全部都是男性。在此次活动中,连续7站,每站都会上来一个不穿裤子的参与者。他们假装互相都没有注意到彼此,如果有人问起,就说只是忘了穿裤子。到了第8站,有人上车背着行李袋兜售裤子,1美元1条。
今年,第八届年度“不穿裤子乘地铁”活动在纽约有1200人参加,在全球其他21个城市有超过1000人参加。
★定格在上海
2008年3月8日,一群人聚集在南京路“同一时间在原地定格”。
尽管天空下着小雨,很多人无法按时参加,但仅从路过的中外行人都立即加入其中就能说明这次活动取得了巨大的成功。仅几秒钟的工夫,行人纷纷停下脚步,对着这50多个以各种姿势变成“石头”的人开始拍照、录像,并对他们加以评论。这群人表演了两次“定格”,第一次是在下午3点,第二次是在3点20分,以使后来的人也能参与进来。
Vocabulary
1. disperse [dIs5pE:s] vi. 分散;散开;散去
2. spontaneous [spCn5teInIEs] adj. (冲动、自然现象等)自发的;非出于强制的;非由外力诱发的
3. predetermine [7pri:dI5tE:mIn] vt. 预先决定,预先确定
4. network [5netwE:k] vt. <俚> 在同行之中征求对(问题等)的意见
5. intrigue [In5tri:^] vt. 激起……的好奇心(或兴趣);迷住
6. mystify [5mIstIfaI] vt. 把……难住,使困惑不解;使大为惊奇
7. Harper's Magazine: 《哈泼氏》,美国主要英文杂志
8. converge [kEn5vE:dV] vi. 聚集,集中
9. rug [rQ^] n. (铺于室内部分地面上的)小地毯;毛皮地毯
10. turnout [5tE:naut] n. (为特定目的)聚集的人群;聚集人数
11. embed [Im5bed] vt. 把……嵌入(或放入、埋入、插入)
12. Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre: 正直的市民旅剧场,美国纽约市著名的喜剧剧场。规模不大,但以其剧场内上演的喜剧古怪且可笑而闻名。
13. duffle bag: = duffel bag,(圆筒状的)行李袋;duffel [5dQfEl] adj. 粗厚起绒呢料制的
14. in place: 在合适的(或常处的、原来的、指定的)位置
15. pedestrian [pI5destrIEn] n. 步行者,行人